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Bocce Glossary

Banking Aka Bank Shot
A bank shot or banking play occurs in court bocce when the bocce ball is played to bank off the backboard or sideboards.

Bocce
Bocce derives from the Italian word for ball. It is sometimes spelled bocci or boccie. The word bocce can be used to refer to the sport itself, to the bocce ball used to play the bocce game, or as a verb for playing, e.g. "Let's bocce."

Court Bocce
Court bocce is a version of the game played on a standardized rectangular court with a backboard at each end and two parallel sideboards. The alternative to court bocce is field bocce, which is played on a grass surface.

Dead Ball
A dead bocce ball is one that has been disqualified and removed from play during an end because of a bocce ball rules violation, e.g. the bowler stepped over the foul line.

End Aka Frame or Round
Each instance of the bocce game when all players have had a turn and points have been awarded is referred to as an end, frame, or round. After a completed end, another end is played until one team reaches the predetermined points total needed to win.

Foul
A foul is a violation of bocce ball rules, typically a foot line foul (see below). This term is not to be confused with the raffa bowling technique (raffa translates into English as "foul").

Foul Line
The foul line is the line on the bocce court or field behind which the player must be standing when the Franklin bocce ball is put into play. If the player steps over the foul line before releasing the Franklink bocce ball it is considered a foul.

Hitting Aka Spocking, Popping, Shooting, or Raffa
A bocce bowling technique in which a forceful underhanded throw is played to strike other balls or the pallino with enough force to move or scatter them.

In Team/Out Team
The in team is the team with the ball closest to the pallino. This is also known as having the advantage or holding the point. The out team plays until they become the in team or run out of bocce balls to play in that end.

Pallino Aka Jack, Pill, Cue Ball, Pallina
The pallino is the small bocce ball thrown at the beginning of each end that is used as a target for the bocce balls. The team closest to the pallino at the conclusion of each frame scores points. The pallino may be struck and moved with a bocce ball.

Pointing Aka Rolling, Lagging, or Puntata
These bocce ball terms refer to the basic bocce play in which the bocce ball is rolled underhand with the intention of reaching the pallino or increasing strategic advantage rather than striking the pallino or other Halex bocce balls.

Volo
Volo refers to a high or arcing type of throw in which applied backspin compels the ball to stop wherever it lands. The volo bocce technique is considered illegal in court bocce to avoid damaging the court surface.